I’ve been doing some thinking, and have decided to adopt a new attitude about some aspects of work and life. It’s called the “I don’t care anymore” philosophy. Some, or most of you are probably bristling at the hearing the words “I don’t care” but hear me out before you make a final decision. That’s a nice way of saying please read through the end of the article before making assumptions about what it is that “I don’t care about” anymore.

I do a mix of work between IT consulting for Cargill and seed sales for our family business. It’s a mixed bag that approaches the agriculture industry on many different levels, and I love the opportunities I have to work with feed manufacturers, animal integrators, farm owners, and everyone else in the mix.

Without further adieu, here are a few things I don’t care about any more…

I don’t care if something is outside my area of control. If I see a problem, or a way we can help solve it, I’m going to get involved. I might not personally be responsible for the problem (or potential problem), but if I see a solution or partnership I’m going to be proactive and try to intervene.

I don’t care if it seems risky to try a new approach. There are many ways to solve a problem or fix something before it becomes one. Just because you’ve been operating a certain way for 5-30 years doesn’t mean it’s going to work in the future. In fact, if you’re operating in that same way and not thinking about changing or improving, then change will definitely come your way. My guess is you won’t like the changes that “just happen”.

I don’t care if it’s “outside my job description,” coming to me at an inconvenient time, or I’m just “too busy” – I will respond quickly, delegate appropriately and see how I can help. Sometimes the best help is saying no, but letting them know who can help or following up to make sure a solution was delivered.

These are all things that I have striven to maintain in my career/life, and at varying degrees I have succeeded and failed in all the areas above from time to time. I’m not saying that it’s appropriate to say yes all the time, or never stop working. Sometimes “I don’t care” means I need to not work as much so I have time to balance out the other areas of my life: physical, mental, spiritual, etc.

What about you? What are some of the things you should stop caring about?